First of all, I need to thank you for the reception Magus has had in the past few days!

When I initially set out to create Mancer, I went through many iterations of making a game that would match with my matured ideal of a roleplaying game. Something, that Slayer’s Frontier, my previous foray into the TTRPG creation sphere could never be since it was based on 5e OGL. Something, that would engage everyone at the table with the storytelling at the table, and make it as easy as possible for all the parties involved.

I went through many iterations of die mechanics, from OSR-like to Narrative dice to, well, what we have now, a Shifting Narrator roll table. And, even eventually, ditching all the other polyhedrals for the venerable d6 for everything.

When I got a chance to playtest Mancer with actual industry people at the end of November 2021, I showed, that I had managed to create something different, something special. And thus, I also set out to gut out the generic parts of Mancer to create something that could be used for other games. And, as Open Source has been something that I’ve always supported, the rules should not be just for me, but for everyone to hack with.

And thus, Magus was born.

I initially planned on releasing Magus after finishing Mancer and its itchfunding. However, as those of you who follow me on Twitter, in battling burnout, I kind of managed to go and extract the core rules in less time than I initially estimated. Though I still don’t have the time to do the layout, you have the core aspects of making a roleplaying game in a no-frills markdown and pdf form!

Magus has in 3 days managed to gather half the downloads of Mancer, and there have already been some of you who’ve expressed interest in making your own games with it! And that, truly, excites me. I wait with bated breath to see what you make with this labour of love of the past three-ish years!

However, while the cat is out of the bag, as it were, the story of Magus is not quite over yet.

Currently, the priority is finishing Mancer for itchfunding, and as of writing this, release in February is still holding! After that, and well, at least the initial marketing push, more resources will be momentarily be put to Magus. Things like an actual laid out PDF for the rules, a few tweaks here and there, et cetera.

However, while I can’t disclose yet when it will happen, I will be making more modules for Magus! (In case you’ve not yet read Magus, modules are rules packages added on top of the core, that’s in the 1-page reference). The first ones to be added are will be rules for Magic, Status Effects, and Character Playbook Creation. These will be free for everyone to download and will be added to the core package.

However, and this has me both excited and anxious, I will be taking a page out of Spencer Campbell’s (aka GilaRPGs) playbook, and will be doing a Season Pass of sorts! The first Season Pass will most likely be coming towards the end of the year, and will contain more specific and niche rules that you can then pick and choose for your games. The Season Pass will have four modules in it, released monthly. This way you can support the creation of further modules.

I have not nailed down yet what all of the first Season Pass Modules will be, but one module is for certain, since it has resurfaced from my own archives: a Crafting System that actually doesn’t make you want to pull your hair out.

Again, thank you all for interest in Magus, and looking forward what you make with it!

Cheers!

• Dæmon